, 1887-01-26

Costumes in Every Degree of Dilapidn.
lIon-System Pursued Mt Milan.

Costumes in Every Degree of Dilapida.
tion-system Pursued ut Milan.
Many n time | have seen the ballet ut
its work under Francesca, and have been
amazed at the contrast between the
ballet i'll the morning and the ballet ut
night. Just imagine u long, dark, damp,
low room, under the lobby of the
Academy of Music; the air is bad, redo
lent of beer and bad whisky. the place
serving as a barroom at night and filed
up with sewer gas during the day. so
little light comes in through the gratings
leading to the sidewalks that half a dozen
Pickering gas burners are struggling with
the darkness. In one corner of the long
room sits a little German pianist ham
mering away at an old instrument which
has done that sort Of duty for a genera
ton. Perched on the piano sits Sig.
Francesca. a book in one hand and a
baton in the other. By the side of the
piano sit two or three of the leading
dancers in street dress; they are there
simply to take their places as the central
figure in certain groupings. The rank
and file of the ballet stand in two rows,
quailing under the eye of the little sig
nor. And such a lot of scarecrows!
In rehearsing q ballet the girls wear
the oldest ballet clothes that they possess,
with the addition of u sort of n jacket
which covers their shoulders and keeps
them from catching cold. Naturally.
these clothes-the tights, the gauze
skirts have seen the hard work and the
dust OF years and of many theatres, and
any M who has been behind the foot
lights knows that for dust and dirt there
is no place like a well seasoned theatre.
In the different costumes which the girls
wear, every degree of ~dilapidation being
present, the absurd discrepancies in figure
between them are more apparent thar
when all are dressed alike and painted
up to the standard OF ballet beauty. In
this damp gloom the fat woman makes
the floor tremble when she skips, and
seems twice as fat as when she comes on
at night in the last row, the ballet master
being careful to put her behind all the
others, while the living skeleton appears
to be more attenuated than usual, and
has dropped her stage smile for a look of
extreme discomfort with everything and
everybody. Now and then the latter
young creature draws from a mysterious
pocket u flask which CONTAINS cough
medicine and takes a sip Of it between
the e~volutions of the ballet; two of the
girls have neuralgia or toothache, which
requires them to tie handkerchiefs under
their chin with q knot over their heads.
and in such guise they skip about in the
belief that the performance will reveal
them as a band of fascinating nymphs.
Now, zen, - says the little signor, and
the whole troop dances one way and then
the other, the girls form rings and bangle
first one foot in the air and then the
other; they skip around the signor, who
represents Faust for the occasion, and
pretend to lure him away by their grace
full actions. But instead of seeming fas-
cinated the signor scowls -rightfully, and
insists that Mile. So-and-So would not
fascinate II Hottentot unless she lifts her
right foot ut least two feet higher. and
grIls as if she meant it, while thereupon
mademoiselle takes a fresh dose of cough
mixture, and nearly breaks in two in her
desire to please the signor. l have seen
Francesca work for nearly an hour trying
to get the ballet to posture in time with
the music. Invariably some of the girls
would he too soon or too late in going
from one contortion to another, and the
whole effect was spoiled. Patience is one
of the prime requisites of the masters
art, and if it was necessary the whole
ballet had to stay there until the thing is
done. This part of the work, however,
is never so trying to the signor as when
he has q number Of young men to drill.
The girls employed in the ballet have
usually been brought VI to it and have
some ear for music, but what could be
expected of n score OF young hoodlums
picked ont of the street, and promised so
cents a night to march as African war
riors; If they had nothing to DO but
march there would be no trouble, but in
81 Africaine," for instance, these war
riors have to take part in the ballet, to
advance and retreat in time with the
music. and it took Francesca whole days
to make the young men start and stop in
time. Yet at the end Of the work l
found him as good natured as ever, and
he would start the ballet with Now,
gcntlemans, ~ in as sweet a tone as if it
was not the hundredth time that the
thing had come to grief.
Francesco's description of the system
pursued at the Milan Ballet school was
very Interesting. Girls were admitted
when they are 5 years old and never after
they are more than 10; the child is first
examined by u physician, who sees that
her limbs are straight and her lungs
sound. Until she is 10 the pupil rarely,
if ever, appears upon the stage, and goes
to no other school. She is taught read
ing, writing. geography and arithmetic
for several hours Il day, but the greatest
pains are of course given to the girls
physical development and her ear for
music. Four hours a day are devoted to
gymnastics of the most thorough kind
swinging. fencing, boxing, climbing - in
fact, anything that will insure "a healthy
animal; dancing is taught for several
hours, and music for several more. Some
OF the leading singers of Italy AVE come
from ballet schools, where their voices
Were first discovered. From the age of
10 to Is the government pays the pupils
u small sum to dance at La Scala. there
being regular ballet performances once or
twice every week in which there are
often 200 persons in the ballet. At IS
II girl is supposed to have finished her
education. and takes rank according t.
the skill she may have developed. New
York Cor. Chicago Times.
The Emperors Authority.
Even in the most insignificant details